


Perfect Place For A Little Babysitting

by FaithAndATypeWriter



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Baby Hiccup Is So Cute, Brief Mention of Spitelout, Brief Mention of the Other Dragon Riders, Close call, Dragon Raid, I Doubt Hiccup Ever Sat Still As A Child, Mostly Fluff, Young Astrid, Young Hiccup, nothing too violent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-15
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:48:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23156596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaithAndATypeWriter/pseuds/FaithAndATypeWriter
Summary: An unexpected raid disrupts the routine of the Hooligan Tribe on Berk and Stoick realizes that young Hiccup and Astrid are stuck in the thick of it.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 77





	Perfect Place For A Little Babysitting

Normally, raids began in the dead of night. Vikings would be flung from their slumber and tossed straight into a fight for their homes, their food, and their very lives. After nearly three centuries, it had become an ingrained pattern for the Hooligans: rise early, work during the day, go to the Hall for a meal and maybe a mead, go to sleep, wake up and fight dragons during the night, repeat. No one particularly cared for the pattern, but they were vikings and vikings had stubbornness issues. The almost predictable nature of the raids fed right into their set ways and their ingrained routines. 

This raid broke the mold. This raid was set apart--maybe not for its viciousness, but for its gall to deviate from a pattern that had prevailed throughout all memory. This raid began during the day; in the broad, bright sunshine.

And the bedlam was worse.

No one was prepared for when the horns sounded or for when the first sheep was snatched up by a Monstrous Nightmare. Men and women left their daily tasks and scrambled to gather their weapons. The young ones were still in the village square and parents and older siblings rushed to collect them. The visiting traders hastily stowed away their wears--one new face from the far south, hailing from the mainland who had never seen a dragon much less a raid simply abandoned his cart and ran all the way to the docks and his ship. Fishlegs’ mother, Inger Ingerman, quickly grabbed him and ran for the Hall. Spitelout hauled Snotlout up onto his shoulder--like the boy was a grain sack--and charged at a group of Gronckles. Silent Sven had been bringing some of his sheep to market and they’d quickly panicked and were running amuck through the village. Lugnut Thorston picked up both of the twins and tossed them to Pinenut who tossed them to Grumpnut, who tossed them to Dumbnut, who finally tossed them to their mother, Hazelnut Thorston (she’d always been Hazel, but added the ‘nut’ when she married into the family).

In the sudden chaos, no one took notice of two toddlers left alone in the square. The teens assigned to babysitting duty had jumped into their usual roles on the fire brigade without ensuring all their charges had been reclaimed. Both children were bewildered and becoming scared. 

Little Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, though small for his age, was always watching and eager to be in motion and had been the first among his generation to walk. Astrid Hofferson, on the other hand, had yet to master standing on her own. Hiccup was caught between fascination and terror as he watched the dragons and vikings around them, but he paused when he saw Astrid’s watery eyes and scrunched up face. He toddled his way over to Astrid and started tugging her out of the square--which she did not care for--and away from various flaming debris.

  
  


*****

  
  


Stoick was in full, chiefly battle mindset as he barked orders and attempted to regain order in the sudden upset. Something caught his attention but he wasn’t sure why as he stared over at the Aldsons' burning home. All the Aldsons were evacuated, so he wasn’t sure why it arrested his attention so...it wasn’t even the worst blaze in sight!

He needed to focus back on the battle where his attention belonged...but then it dawned on him and he did a double take.

A quick glance around the village told him that  _ all _ the teens were at their usual post on the fire brigade.  _ That _ was the problem. At night, that was what their jobs were, but in the day they’d been assigned to watch over the young ones. If they were all occupied with the fires, then who was watching the children…

Stoick finally spotted Hiccup in the center of the square, slowly pulling a squirming Astrid out of the fray. His heart seized when he spotted a sheep run into the merchant’s cart and sent barring down on them from up the square. 

Horror struck, Stoick charged through the melee and dodged attacks from both the beasts and his fellow Hooligans. Hiccup and Astrid are roughly the same size and Hiccup was clumsy enough in his attempt to help his friend without Astrid struggling. There’s no way he’s going to make it in time, and when Stoick realized this his heart sank and was gripped in an icy, numb pain. Calling out for help does no good because his shouts are lost in the din of battle--or at the least they are lost to those close enough to help the children, which is what matters. Those that do hear are too confused to realize which threat the chief was trying to stop.

One final tug from Hiccup, accompanied by a kick from Astrid, and both children are narrowly out of the path of danger. The cart barreling passed them with only a hair’s width between them caused them both to freeze and fall silent. Not a moment later, Stoick was beside them and snatched them up from the ground, followed shortly by Astrid’s mother, Erika, racing up to him and frantically taking her daughter.

“Astrid!” Erika gasped. Both kids were whimpering and upset. “Oh, thank you, Chief!”

“Don’t thank me,” Stoick said, voice gruff. “Thank Hiccup. He pulled her out of the way before I could get to them.”

“Thank you, Hiccup.” Erika said, running a gentle hand through his hair.

Erika and Stoick were side by side and little Astrid decided she’d had enough of Hiccup being in her space--and he was  _ still _ too close! She pouted and whacked her fist into Hiccup’s arm.

Hiccup cried out and began pouting himself as he turned into his father’s chest to hide in Stoick’s beard.

“Oh, ho, ho…” Erika chuckled slightly as she reached out and soothed Hiccup. “Astrid! That’s no way to thank Hiccup!”

Erika leaned down and placed a kiss on Hiccup’s cheek, hoping to ease the tears in his eyes. Instantly forgetting her earlier frustrations, Astrid copied her mother and leaned forward to kiss Hiccup’s cheek.

Stoick and Erika share a brief laugh as Hiccup looked disgusted and wiped his cheek off with his baggy sleeve. A Nadder spine struck the ground near them and they quickly parted and went back to business. 

Stoick hurried to the forge and handed Hiccup to Gobber without ceremony before throwing his hammer at a diving Monstrous Nightmare and charging at the beast.

“Oh, sure!” Gobber said to his back. “Hot forge...sharpened swords...perfect place for a little babysitting.”

**Author's Note:**

> I got the names for the kids’ parents from a site listing old norse names. They mean:
> 
> Inger-- beautiful goddess  
> (not to be confused with Fishlegs’ ancestor Ingar)  
> (I just thought it'd be funny for a woman named Inger to marry into the Ingerman family)
> 
> Erika (or Eerika)-- ruling forever


End file.
